Projective Ring Line Encompassing Two-Qubits

The projective line over the (non-commutative) ring of two-by-two matrices with coefficients in GF(2) is found to fully accommodate the algebra of 15 operators - generalized Pauli matrices - characterizing two-qubit systems. The relevant sub-configuration consists of 15 points each of which is either simultaneously distant or simultaneously neighbor to (any) two given distant points of the line. The operators can be identified with the points in such a one-to-one manner that their commutation relations are exactly reproduced by the underlying geometry of the points, with the ring geometrical notions of neighbor/distant answering, respectively, to the operational ones of commuting/non-commuting. This remarkable configuration can be viewed in two principally different ways accounting, respectively, for the basic 9+6 and 10+5 factorizations of the algebra of the observables. First, as a disjoint union of the projective line over GF(2) x GF(2) (the "Mermin" part) and two lines over GF(4) passing through the two selected points, the latter omitted. Second, as the generalized quadrangle of order two, with its ovoids and/or spreads standing for (maximum) sets of five mutually non-commuting operators and/or groups of five maximally commuting subsets of three operators each. These findings open up rather unexpected vistas for an algebraic geometrical modelling of finite-dimensional quantum systems and give their numerous applications a wholly new perspective.Comment: 8 pages, three tables; Version 2 - a few typos and one discrepancy corrected; Version 3: substantial extension of the paper - two-qubits are generalized quadrangles of order two; Version 4: self-dual picture completed; Version 5: intriguing triality found -- three kinds of geometric hyperplanes within GQ and three distinguished subsets of Pauli operator

How Lawyers Deal with the Recent Changes in the Area of Environmental Law

Recent changes in the area of environmental law regarding the cleanup of hazardous waste sites, particularly in the federal arena, are forcing lawyers to revise their strategy when advising commercial real estate developers. Lawyers have traditionally focused upon the economic aspects of a commercial real estate transaction such as the enforceability of leases, mortgage encumbrances, restrictions, title issues, and site inspection of the premises. In addition to focusing upon these traditional aspects, new and important emphasis must be placed on the analysis and determination of the condition of the physical property itself. Recent federal legislation such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (hereinafter CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. § 9601, et seq., and its amendment have created an area of uncertainty and confusion with respect to the liability for the cleanup of contaminated property

Relative Cost-effectiveness Of Using An Extensively Hydrolyzed Casein Formula In Managing Infants With Cow’s Milk Allergy In Brazil

To estimate the cost-effectiveness of three alternative dietetic strategies for cow’s milk allergy in Brazil: 1) using an extensively hydrolyzed casein formula (eHCF; Nutramigen) as a first-line formula, but switching to an amino acid formula (AAF) if infants remain symptomatic; 2) using an AAF as a first-line formula and then switching to an eHCF after 4 weeks once infants are symptom-free, but switching back to an AAF if infants become symptomatic; and 3) using an AAF as a first-line formula and keeping all infants on that formula. The analysis was conducted from the perspective of the Brazilian public health care system, Sistema Único de Saude. Methods: Decision modeling was used to estimate the probability of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated and non-IgE-mediated allergic infants developing tolerance to cow’s milk by 12 months from starting a formula. The models also estimated the Sistema Único de Saude cost (at 2013/2014 prices) of managing infants over 12 months after starting a formula, as well as the relative cost-effectiveness of each of the dietetic strategies. Results: The probability of developing tolerance to cow’s milk by 12 months from starting a formula was higher among infants with either IgE-mediated or non-IgE-mediated allergy who were initially fed with an eHCF, compared with those who were initially fed with an AAF. The total health care cost of initially feeding an eHCF to cow’s milk allergic infants was less than that of initially feeding both IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated infants with an AAF. Conclusion: Within the study’s limitations, using an eHCF instead of an AAF for the first-line management of newly-diagnosed infants with cow’s milk allergy affords a cost-effective use of publicly funded resources, since it improves the outcome for less cost. © 2016 Guest et al.862963

Similarity and variability of blocked weather-regime dynamics in the Atlantic-European region

Weather regimes govern an important part of the sub-seasonal variability of the mid-latitude circulation. Due to their role in weather extremes and atmospheric predictability, regimes that feature a blocking anticyclone are of particular interest. This study investigates the dynamics of these ''blocked'' regimes in the North Atlantic-European region from a year-round perspective. For a comprehensive diagnostic, we combine wave activity concepts and a piecewise potential-vorticity (PV) tendency framework. The latter essentially quantifies the well-established PV perspective of mid-latitude dynamics. All blocked regimes during the 1979&ndash;2021 period of ERA5 reanalysis are considered. Wave activity characteristics exhibit distinct differences between blocked regimes. After regime onset, one regime (Greenland Blocking) is associated with a suppression of wave activity flux, whereas two other regimes (Atlantic Ridge and European Blocking) are associated with a northward deflection of the flux without a clear net change. During onset, the envelope of Rossby wave activity retracts upstream for Greenland Blocking, whereas the envelope extends downstream for Atlantic Ridge and European Blocking. The fourth regime (Scandinavian Blocking) exhibits intermediate wave activity characteristics. From the perspective of piecewise PV tendencies projected onto the respective regime pattern, the dynamics that govern regime onset exhibit a large degree of similarity: Linear Rossby wave dynamics and nonlinear eddy PV fluxes dominate and are of approximately equal relative importance, whereas baroclinic coupling and divergent amplification make minor contributions. Most strikingly, all blocked regimes exhibit very similar (intra-regime) variability: a retrograde and an upstream pathway to regime onset. The retrograde pathway is dominated by nonlinear PV eddy fluxes, whereas the upstream pathway is dominated by linear Rossby wave dynamics. Importantly, there is a large degree of cancellation between the two pathways for some of the mechanisms before regime onset. The physical meaning of a regime-mean perspective before onset can thus be severely limited. Implications of our results for understanding predictability of blocked regimes are discussed. We further discuss the limitations of projected tendencies in capturing the importance of moist processes, which tend to occur at the fringes or outside of the regime pattern. Finally, we stress that this study investigate the variability of the governing dynamics without prior empirical stratification of data by season or by type of regime transition. We demonstrate, however, that our dynamics-centered approach does not map predominantly on variability that is associated with these factors. The main modes of dynamical variability revealed herein, and the large similarity of the blocked regimes in exhibiting this variability are thus significant results.</p

Time-dependent spectral-feature variations of stars displaying the B[e] phenomenon; I. V2028 Cyg

We present results of nearly six years of spectroscopic observations of the B[e] star V2028 Cyg. The presence of the cold-type absorption lines combined with a hot-type spectrum indicate the binarity of this object. Since B[e] stars are embedded in an extended envelope, the usage of common stellar atmosphere models for the analysis is quite inappropriate. Therefore, we focus on the analysis of the long-term spectral line variations in order to determine the nature of this object. We present the time dependences of the equivalent width and radial velocities of the H alpha line, [O I] 6300 A, Fe II 6427, 6433, and 6456 A lines. The bisector variations and line intensities are shown for the H alpha line. The radial velocities are also measured for the absorption lines of the K component. No periodic variation is found. The observed data show correlations between the measured quantities, which can be used in future modelling

Investigation of Mitochondrial Dysfunction by Sequential Microplate-Based Respiration Measurements from Intact and Permeabilized Neurons

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a component of many neurodegenerative conditions. Measurement of oxygen consumption from intact neurons enables evaluation of mitochondrial bioenergetics under conditions that are more physiologically realistic compared to isolated mitochondria. However, mechanistic analysis of mitochondrial function in cells is complicated by changing energy demands and lack of substrate control. Here we describe a technique for sequentially measuring respiration from intact and saponin-permeabilized cortical neurons on single microplates. This technique allows control of substrates to individual electron transport chain complexes following permeabilization, as well as side-by-side comparisons to intact cells. To illustrate the utility of the technique, we demonstrate that inhibition of respiration by the drug KB-R7943 in intact neurons is relieved by delivery of the complex II substrate succinate, but not by complex I substrates, via acute saponin permeabilization. In contrast, methyl succinate, a putative cell permeable complex II substrate, failed to rescue respiration in intact neurons and was a poor complex II substrate in permeabilized cells. Sequential measurements of intact and permeabilized cell respiration should be particularly useful for evaluating indirect mitochondrial toxicity due to drugs or cellular signaling events which cannot be readily studied using isolated mitochondria

Increasing pattern recognition accuracy for chemical sensing by evolutionary based drift compensation

Artificial olfaction systems, which mimic human olfaction by using arrays of gas chemical sensors combined with pattern recognition methods, represent a potentially low-cost tool in many areas of industry such as perfumery, food and drink production, clinical diagnosis, health and safety, environmental monitoring and process control. However, successful applications of these systems are still largely limited to specialized laboratories. Sensor drift, i.e., the lack of a sensor's stability over time, still limits real in dustrial setups. This paper presents and discusses an evolutionary based adaptive drift-correction method designed to work with state-of-the-art classification systems. The proposed approach exploits a cutting-edge evolutionary strategy to iteratively tweak the coefficients of a linear transformation which can transparently correct raw sensors' measures thus mitigating the negative effects of the drift. The method learns the optimal correction strategy without the use of models or other hypotheses on the behavior of the physical chemical sensors

A novel stepwise integrative analysis pipeline reveals distinct microbiota-host interactions and link to symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome

Although incompletely understood, microbiota-host interactions are assumed to be altered in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We, therefore, aimed to develop a novel analysis pipeline tailored for the integrative analysis of microbiota-host interactions and association to symptoms and prove its utility in a pilot cohort. A multilayer stepwise integrative analysis pipeline was developed to visualize complex variable associations. Application of the pipeline was demonstrated on a dataset of IBS patients and healthy controls (HC), using the R software package to analyze colonic host mRNA and mucosal microbiota (16S rRNA gene sequencing), as well as gastrointestinal (GI) and psychological symptoms. In total, 42 IBS patients (57% female, mean age 33.6 (range 18–58)) and 20 HC (60% female, mean age 26.8 (range 23–41)) were included. Only in IBS patients, mRNA expression of Toll-like receptor 4 and genes associated with barrier function (PAR2, OCLN, TJP1) intercorrelated closely, suggesting potential functional relationships. This host genes-based “permeability cluster” was associated to mucosa-adjacent Chlamydiae and Lentisphaerae, and furthermore associated to satiety as well as to anxiety, depression and fatigue. In both IBS patients and HC, chromogranins, secretogranins and TLRs clustered together. In IBS patients, this host genes-based “immune-enteroendocrine cluster” was associated to specific members of Firmicutes, and to depression and fatigue, whereas in HC no significant association to microbiota was identified. We have developed a stepwise integrative analysis pipeline that allowed identification of unique host-microbiota intercorrelation patterns and association to symptoms in IBS patients. This analysis pipeline may aid in advancing the understanding of complex variable associations in health and disease

Targeting breast cancer metabolism with a novel inhibitor of mitochondrial ATP synthesis.

Inhibitors of mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis may promote the selective killing of respiration-competent cancer cells that are critical for tumor progression. We previously reported that CADD522, a small molecule inhibitor of the RUNX2 transcription factor, has potential for breast cancer treatment. In the current study, we show that CADD522 inhibits mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation by decreasing the mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and ATP production in human breast cancer cells in a RUNX2-independent manner. The enzyme activity of mitochondrial ATP synthase was inhibited by CADD522 treatment. Importantly, results from cellular thermal shift assays that detect drug-induced protein stabilization revealed that CADD522 interacts with both α and β subunits of the F1-ATP synthase complex. Differential scanning fluorimetry also demonstrated interaction of α subunits of the F1-ATP synthase to CADD522. These results suggest that CADD522 might target the enzymatic F1 subunits in the ATP synthase complex. CADD522 increased the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which was prevented by MitoQ, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, suggesting that cancer cells exposed to CADD522 may elevate ROS from mitochondria. CADD522-increased mitochondrial ROS levels were enhanced by exogenously added pro-oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide or tert-butyl hydroperoxide. Conversely, CADD522-mediated cell growth inhibition was blocked by N-acetyl-l-cysteine, a general ROS scavenger. Therefore, CADD522 may exert its antitumor activity by increasing mitochondrial driven cellular ROS levels. Collectively, our data suggest in vitro proof-of-concept that supports inhibition of mitochondrial ATP synthase and ROS generation as contributors to the effectiveness of CADD522 in suppression of tumor growth

SR 33557, a Novel Calcium Entry Blocker. I. In Vitro Isolated Tissue Studies1

ABSTRACT The effects of SR 33557 on isolated cardiovascular preparations were compared to those of nifedipine, verapamil and diltiazem